The present invention relates to an apparatus for continuously processing compounds in a liquid, which is more particularly to be used for the continuous dissolving of nuclear fuels in nitric acid during the reprocessing of said fuels.
A certain number of apparatuses are already known for the continuous dissolving of nuclear fuels in order to separate them from their cans and after cutting up the fuel assemblies to be processed can fragments are obtained.
Certain of these apparatus are constituted by vibrating hoist conveyors having a vertical shaft carrying a helical ramp on which the can fragments are transferred form a low position to a high position under the action of the vibrations imparted to the ramp by the vertical shaft. These vibrations correspond to a helical reciprocating movement and make it possible to ensure the upward displacement of the can fragments.
Due to the vertical component of the movement imparted to the helical ramp in this way, these known apparatus must be mounted on elastic blocks or springs making them both complex and fragile. Moreover, mechanical stresses are produced by the resistance of the liquid to the vertical component of the reciprocating movement imparted to the ramp and must be withstood by the ramp. This leads to fatigue to the welds and may bring about mechanical failures.